Gun (Symbol)
The gun is not the only weapon used in the movie, but it is the one most closely associated with power and authority. When Henry attacks a man who assaulted Karen, he uses his gun to pistol-whip the man and then has Karen hide the pistol. Karen, instead of being frightened, is turned on, partly by Henry's display of dominance and partly by his trust in her and his willingness to share power. As she stares down at the bloody gun, an ambiguous look of simultaneous horror and intrigue spreads across her face. Here, the gun symbolizes Henry's appeal, his strength, and his grit, all of which entice Karen.
Later in the movie, when she threatens to shoot the barely-awake Henry as retaliation for his infidelity, Henry snatches the gun away from her, regaining the upper hand in the relationship. While she sits on top of him, we see Karen as if from Henry's perspective, pointing the gun directly at the camera. The gun gives her the power in their relationship, and she assures him that she's not afraid to use it against him. Later, when the cops raid the house for drugs, she sticks a pistol in her underwear, an exceedingly phallic image that symbolizes Karen's desire to be one of the guys and facilitate their life of crime.
Additionally, Tommy uses gun violence, and the threat of gun violence, to cement his authority and dominance over Henry and others. He shoots a young man nicknamed Spider in the foot for fun, then later kills him when the young man insults him and fails to show what Tommy considers to be the proper submissive attitude. There is nothing that Tommy likes more than shooting an unwitting victim. In fact, he even enjoys shooting someone's body even after he has killed them, as in the case of Billy and Spats. The final image of the film exists in Henry's imagination, as he imagines Tommy pointing his gun at him. We see Tommy smile at the camera and raise a gun to shoot. Guns represent power and authority in the film, and they give their possessors the dominant position.
The Pink Coupe (Symbol)
When Jimmy Conway, assisted by Henry and others, pull of the Lufthansa heist and steal millions of dollars, it is a crowning achievement. For a handful of uneducated thugs to successfully break into an airport and steal bags of cash from a wealthy international airline is shocking: indeed, the incident makes the international news. After it works, however, Jimmy becomes incredibly paranoid about any of his men revealing their involvement to the authorities. When he throws a Christmas party for the men, he frets as they arrive with their girlfriends sporting fancy new possessions. One mobster arrives with his wife in a pink coupe car, and Jimmy becomes violently angry. The car represents conspicuous consumption and the threat of being found out. It is not only an expensive car, but a gaudy and flashy one. Because it is not only nice, but also draws attention to itself, the car symbolizes the mobster's guilt. In Jimmy's eyes, the purchase of the car is practically asking the authorities to arrest the gang. Later, we see the pink coupe parked under a bridge, with the mobster and his wife dead in the front seat. Apparently, they weretooo much of a liability to Jimmy for him to allow them to live, so he had them whacked. Here, the pink car becomes a tragic symbol, a representation of the precariousness of one's position in the organization.
Money (Symbol)
Money is a fairly literal object throughout the film. When a character pulls out a wad of cash, it is clear that he is doing well—that he's recently profited off a heist or a hijack of some sort and is living large. More than that, however, it is also a symbol of love and commitment. Henry is not a very doting or attentive husband, but he showers Karen with gifts and money to show her that he cares. In one scene, he hands her a wad of cash and she gets on the floor to give him oral sex. Money, a valuable object of exchange, symbolizes Henry's care for her. Then, at the end, when Henry is desperate and broke, he goes to Paulie to beg for forgiveness. Paulie hands him a wad of cash, $3200, enough to help him a little bit, but hardly enough to live off. The relatively meager sum symbolizes how Paulie's love for Henry has diminished, and how he is not willing to help and support his young protege anymore after Henry betrayed him.
Food (Motif)
Food and its preparation recurs as a motif throughout the film. In spite of their gruesome and unsavory lives, characters are often sitting down with one another for a civilized, shared meal. This represents the Italian heritage of many of the characters—food and shared meals are a central cultural value in Italy—as well as their loyalty and sense of care for one another. They might be willing to whack one another if any of them ever gets out of line, but "when you're family you're family." This motif is often played for comic effect, shown in contrast with the otherwise uncivilized undertakings of the mobsters. Notable instances include Tommy's mother's cooking, Paulie and Henry cooking in jail, and Henry's nagging his brother to keep his eyes on "the sauce."
Egg Noodles & Ketchup (Symbol)
Lining up with the importance of food in the film, in the final scene, Henry laments the loss of his gangster lifestyle to the boring Witness Protection Program. He emerges from a cookie cutter house in a bathrobe, shooting the camera a wry expression and telling us, in voiceover, that the food isn't even good. Recently, he ordered spaghetti with marinara, but all he could get was "egg noodles and ketchup." The decline in food quality is a symbol of his decline in status, and his forced entry into a boring life. He says, "I'm an average nobody...get to live the rest of my life like a schnook." The "egg noodles and ketchup" are the final blow to his ego, and represent his exile from the world of hits, power, and good Italian food.
